The Jonas Brothers and Twilight? (And a few personal updates)

Wow... It has been two weeks exactly. I apologize for the lack of updates. No, I haven't forgotten about this thing. I've actually been moving and resting in bed because I'm sore and sick. I'm actually still sick, but I've decided it's time to stop hiding from the virtual world. It's not like you guys can catch anything I have.

Anyway, on to better things.

Some of the latest Twi-buzz is that the Jonas Brothers want to be on the New Moon soundtrack. A snippet from the MTV article says:

"The movie was obviously a huge success, and if they asked us to be a part of [the sequel], that would be great,” Nick Jonas said when we caught up with him and his brothers Monday, revealing that the trio are fans of Stephenie Meyer’s vampire franchise and would be willing to write a song for the “New Moon” soundtrack. “It would be really cool.”

“I haven’t seen it,” Joe admitted. “But I have heard it’s a great movie.”

“We’re looking forward to seeing it,” Nick added. “We’ve been a little busy, so it’s kinda hard to get the movies, but we’ll see it.”

I would say around one out of every thirty person approves of this match. There are definitely some JBro fans who like Twilight and vice-versa. However, most of us don't agree with this idea. See how I said us? I'm including myself in that group.

However, I have noticed that I disagree for different reasons, and I thought I'd explain.

Their Opinion
Issue One "OMG! They haven't even READ Twilight/New Moon!" Okay, okay, I'll give some credibility to this freak-out session. They did say that they would be willing to write a song for New Moon. That means they should kind of read the books to know what they're talking (singing?) about. However, this isn't always necessary. Artists who wind up on soundtracks aren't usually involved in the process. From what I understand, they sign over the rights for a use of a song and the movie uses it and puts it on a CD. It's not a difficult process. If the person in charge simply wants to take one of their songs and smack it on the DVD, you can't use this argument against them.

Issue Two "They don't SOUND right. I want more indie bands! Like PARAMORE and BLUE OCTOBER and LINKIN PARK!" This is the freak-out that most confuses me. What kind of 'indie' are these people referring to? Though I'm not all knowing in the realm of music, I know from personal experience that there are three basic forms of indie: 1) an independent label -- This is where the term is derived from and it is most correct of the three. My favorite band, AFI, could have been considered 'indie' when they were on Nitro. When they switched to DreamWorks for Sing The Sorrow and then Interscope for Decemberunderground, they were considered to have 'sold out'. (Ridiculous.) 2) sound -- This is one of the most common references and is multi-faceted, being applied to both music and video. Juno and Little Miss Sunshine are two movies that could be considered 'indie' because of their feel, but they were distributed by Fox Searchlight. Fox is definitely not indie. 3) popularity -- Or lack thereof. This doesn't just happen in the punk world. Sometimes artists that are relatively unknown and unheard of -- ones that don't get as much airtime and don't show up on MTV -- can be considered indie.

As far as I know, there aren't many indie bands on the Twilight Soundtrack when we take into consideration any one of these three definitions. For instance:

Blue October -- Are they on an independent label? No. They're on Universal Records, which also owns the rights to ABBA, Lindsay Lohan, and Nelly. Would you consider any of those artists to be 'indie'? (Although they also work on the label 'Brando Records', which is nothing I've never heard of.)Do they sound indie? That one is more subjective. I suppose I could understand if some people thought so, but I don't. They seem very pop-rock to me. How mainstream are they? Well, everybody I know has heard of them. Are they indie? Not by any of these standards.

Paramore -- Are they on an independent label? At first, I might have thought so. The label is called 'Fueled By Ramen'. Digging deeper, however, I learned that Fueled By Ramen is distributed by Atlantic Records, whose 'parent company' (whatever the hell THAT is) is Warner Music Group, which is one of the four major record labels. So, I want to say no. From what I understand, they are basically getting funded by Warner Brothers. Do they sound indie? Hahahah. Um, no. They are listed as emo, alternative pop/rock, power pop, and pop punk, and I think that's just what they are. How mainstream are they? Like with Blue October, everyone I know has heard of them. They're even on MTV! OMG! Are they indie? Probably not.

Link Park -- Are they on an independent label? They are listed as being on the labels 'Warner Bros' and 'Machine Shop'. I went to see if they were in the same boat as Blue October, but Machine Shop is just LP's personal record label that is part of Warner Bros. It appears to be a big. fat. no. Do they sound indie? Snort. Nooooo. They don't. They sound very metal, rock, rap, and hip-hop. How mainstream are they? Whether you love them or hate them, you just know who Linkin Park is. They're on MTV, your radio station, and movies. They're pretty mainstream. Are they indie? Not even close.

Muse -- Are they on an independent label? It looks like their most current label is Warner Bros. Oh, snap. WB is just suckin' up all of the great bands! So no, I don't think they are. They've been signed on to a lot of labels, though, so maybe. Do they sound indie? Well, they definitely sound more indie than any of the other choices. I guess it depends on what you think of when you imagine the sound of indie. How mainstream are they? Until Steph said that they were her OMG favorite band, I had never heard of them. Are they indie? Technically? No. If your definition of indie is based off of lack of popularity or the sound, then perhaps.

My Opinion
Issue One "I just don't like them." Most Disney stars rub me the wrong way. Okay, okay, I have some guilty pleasures. I LOVE Brenda Song and I LOVE Selena Gomez. I guess it's time to behead me now. But I just really don't like the Jonas Brothers. I'm glad that they are such great influences, and I actually don't mind Nick because I think he's rather inspirational with how he handles his diabetes, but I don't want to listen to them. I don't want them on my soundtrack. I just do not want them.

Issue Two "They don't have the right sound." Granted, I don't listen to them. I have heard a few songs because of my addiction to the Disney channel WHEN I ACTUALLY HAVE CABLE, but I don't think their cutesy, poppy songs would be beneficial to New Moon. As another commenter stated, New Moon is very emotional and dark and the JBros are just a little too poppy. However, they might be able to pull off a darker song. I don't know.

Issue Three "If you give a little, you actually give a lot." I believe Jaden Nation actually mentioned that in his latest vlog. If the Jonas Brothers make it on to this soundtrack, who's to say that Vanessa Hudgens won't be Leah when the time comes for the part? Disney kind of puts a stigma on their actors, which isn't fair. I've seen Shia in some pretty serious roles. However, I don't think that most of the Disney stars could pull it off. They overact, and it works for Disney, but it wouldn't for New Moon.

And that's about it. I've got a lot of things to do today, and I should have left by now.

Except that I just want to announce that I'm not a music expert. If any of the above facts are incorrect, please leave a *nice*, *friendly* comment correcting me.

Solomon Trimble and Krys Ivory not in New Moon?

Oh noez! More rumors? It seems like it could be. There's been talk for the past few weeks that Solomon Trimble and Krys Smokey-Desperado -- err... Ivory -- may not appear in New Moon along with co- and pack-star Taylor Lautner.

Unless you're Twilight obsessed in every area or, like me, just madly in love with The Pack, you may be scratching your head wondering who the hell Solomon and Krys are. Well, does this refresh your memory?



On the right is obviously Taylor Lautner, who plays Jacob Black. In the middle is Krys Ivory (or Embry Call), and on the left is Solomon Trimble (or Sam Uley). Their parts are more implied than directly addressed. On IMDB, Solomon is listed as Sam but Krys isn't in the credits at all. Now, I'm not sure which it is -- either Solomon or Krys -- but one of them is labeled only as Jacob Black's Friend in the movie. For fans of these two fellows, that creates a problem -- it doesn't necessarily tie them to their roles.

But that isn't exactly cause for alarm. Summit re-hired Taylor Lautner even though he didn't physically fit the part. Maybe they will do the same for Krys and Solomon.

The first thing that alarmed me was an alleged side that was leaked onto the web. I was naughty and I googled to find it. I came across a website that had three sides posted. I can't remember what two of them were, but one was for Sam. There's a big possibility that it could have been fraudulent, but it looked authentic and it had Sam's name written all over it.

For those of you who aren't theatre or acting oriented, a side is an excerpt from a script used to audition with. An actor is asked to perform as one or more characters while the judge or judges appraise his or her performance and how well he or she would portray a certain character. Sometimes actors will speak as characters that aren't actually up for grabs, but that is rarely the case.

Then there is also this article, which states:

"However, in a film with such a strong Native American theme, only two actors of Native American decent were hired. But due to reasons unknown, Solomon Trimble (Apache) who played and established the character of Sam Uley, has suddenly lost his role.

Sam Uley’s character has been re-posted onto the Hollywood-casting breakdown, and it is obvious that Hollywood is now looking for a more marketable teen heartthrob celebrity actor to play the more substantial and very desirable part."

As far as I understand, NewMoonMovie.org is a fansite and is not official in any way. There's a possibility that they could have their information wrong, right? Right?

Multiple sources have commented, though, that Sam's name appears on the casting list.

I have a feeling that some people are wondering what the big deal is. After all, Solomon had, like, two lines, and Krys didn't speak at all. I've grown rather attached to them, though. It is true that none of the pack boys are how I imagined the characters to look. Taylor isn't my Jake, Krys isn't my Embry, and Solomon isn't my Sam. But I'm attached to them, now. Even though they aren't my interprations, but I can't imagine anybody else playing the parts now.

My love for Solomon and Krys started with this video:


(Thanks to the Twilight Lexicon for the interview)

There's not much for me to say about Krys and why I believe he should stay as Embry. The character is described on the lex as being "quieter and more shy than some of the other boys on the Rez. He is playful, but still come across as being more reserved", but despite that, "don’t make fun of his name around Jacob."

Krys didn't say much, and off the bat, I think the timeline was a little messed up. Solomon commented that Sam had, at that point, been transforming for a few years. That means that he would have seemed very 'cultish' to Embry and Jacob by then. It's a little strange that Embry is so calm around him. However, that isn't Krys' fault; it's Melissa's.

Even though Krys didn't say anything, his personality seems to fit with Embry's. I'm confident that Krys could play a more reserved character who gets a little hotheaded when his name is mocked.

And now on to Solomon. He had about two lines, but there's more I can say about him. Between him and Krys, he has definitely had more exposure. There have been a couple of interviews with him (the most recent being here) where he's discussed his personal life and his part in Twilight.

As I've mentioned, Solomon isn't my impression of Sam. My version is definitely buffer. Lol. But they kept Taylor despite his physical downfall. He was hired because he was 'emotionally right' for the part. I feel like the same thing goes for Solomon (and Krys!).

Sam is very authoritative. He doesn't like to use the alpha force unless it is necessary, but he exudes confidence and direction. Solomon absolutely embodies that. He's perfect for the part.

He has also proven how dedicated he is to this role. It didn't matter that Sam's role in Twilight was minuscule; Solomon did what he could to portray the character correctly and to the full extent. He met with the Quileutes and learned some of their language, and even though Stephenie informed him that Sam wasn't a poet, Solomon wrote poetry as Sam -- to Emily; about imprinting (you can read them in the interview I linked). Just like Rob wrote to Carlisle, Solomon did what he could to get in character.

Still, there's been no news. Summit has left us a trail of breadcrumbs, but nothing official has been said about the state of Solomon's job. They've left us to speculate.

If they do replace Krys and Solomon -- I sincerely hope they DON'T! KNOCK ON WOOD! -- I don't think it's because of what NewMoonMovie.org said. I don't think they're trying to get more attractive cast members. In my heart, I believe the questioning stems from location. There may be some scenes shot in Portland for New Moon, but the majority of the movie will be filmed in Italy and Vancouver, BC. They might not want to fly Krys and Solomon there. And I'm confident that's where the pack will be shot because Movies Online posted I-don't-know-when an article that called for "FIRST NATIONS/ABORIGINAL ACTORS AND ACTRESSES BETWEEN THE AGES OF 15 and 25" (their capslock, not mine) in the area of Vancouver to attend an open call. Krys and Solomon live in Oregon.

At the end of the day, I really hope Krys and Solomon get their parts back. If you're like me, you can friend Team Solomon on MySpace. There's not one for Krys yet, but maybe she'll make one!